by Donn, KL
“What are you thinking?” I step closer.
“Whatever this dark mage has done to her, whatever fucking power may be flowing through her system, it’s time to let it fucking rain hellfire on this place.” His jaw is locked tight with frustration.
Shit.
There’s been a niggling doubt in my mind about this magic shit. Especially the way Arianna was conceived. Learning that she was brought into this world by a darkness we couldn’t begin to comprehend leaves me wondering if that same darkness has affected the woman she is today.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Ares backs me up to the wall, so I’m side-by-side to Arianna and shakes his head, expressing his same doubts.
“Fuck, no, but what other option do we have?” His head hangs with his own doubts.
“Arianna.” I say her name and look over to see she has her head tilted back, and her eyes are closed. An air of menace surrounds her, and I believe she is listening to us. Even without us saying a word, she knows what must be done.
The trouble is, will she come through this the same woman as she was before, or will the darkness linger in her soul?
11
Arianna
From the moment the shackles were placed around my wrists, I’ve been trying to channel my energy into connecting with Callista. We’ve done it so often, I hadn’t realized distance would be a problem.
With the dark mage ramping up her efforts to tantalize me with her own salaciousness, I’ve had trouble concentrating.
Seeing Ainsley set my mind free.
Her anguish allowed my subconscious to accept what my heart has been fighting against.
Power.
Ethereal.
Supreme.
Torturous.
“Oh god,” I moan as it feels like my blood vessels are exploding from the amount of force rushing through my body.
“Stop!” Callista’s voice echoes in my mind. “You can’t accept the darkness, princess. It will control your every thought, move, and command.”
“I have to save my people.”
“At the sacrifice of yourself?” Her disbelief is filled with panic.
Without thought, I reply, “Yes. They are what make Graeline. Ainsley did nothing to deserve this, and they’re going to kill her.” My frustration only strengthens the power.
“Arianna.” I hear Apollo’s voice, but I can’t open my eyes to look at him. “Come on, princess, look at me.” Worry laces his tone.
“Listen to him,” Callista pleads.
Shaking her from my head, I try to focus on the shackles keeping me chained up.
“Baby.” Ares sounds pissed. “Open your fucking eyes.” His demand is punctuated by the sharp grip of my jaw.
I continue to ignore them.
“Ahh, my dear, you’ve come to accept my offer.” The cackling voice of the dark mage filters through my mind, and everything and everyone else is muted.
“What do you want from me?” I inquire, accepting that she won’t help without a price. She never does, and that’s one of the reasons why no one goes to her.
“You, princess. I’ve only ever wanted you.” Acknowledging that this is the only way to save these girls, to save everyone from this man’s depraved idea of fun, I have no choice.
Opening my eyes, my vision goes dark, but I see Ares and Apollo perfectly. “You have to save them,” I implore to them, and they share a look.
“Don’t you fucking do it, Arianna,” Apollo demands.
The crack of a whip followed by a tortuous cry grabs my attention, and I see the same balding man from before standing over top of Ainsley. His shirt is thrown to the side as she’s down on her knees, hands bound above her head by chains, and blood streaming down her back.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to my men before telling the dark mage, “I’m yours.”
“Then it shall be.” The words filter through my being, power slowly following. Coursing like a raging river within my veins as my eyes drift shut.
The echoes of the whip cracking are always followed by Ainsley’s agonized cries. Her moans growing weaker by the second, they incite me. A burning light blinds me, and I feel transported out of my body. Gazing down but not participating as bright lights burst from my fingertips, and a red haze covers my vision.
The men around the room pause their heinous acts as Apollo and Ares back away slowly. Their nervousness is palpable as they share a look before slowly scanning the room and watching the other men as they realize something is not quite right.
The shackles that were binding me are pulled from the wall as I move, my strength unmatched as I float to kneel at Ainsley’s side. Murmuring a chant in a language I don’t recognize and have never heard before, I glide my hands along her flesh. The warmth of her skin radiating back toward me is filled with tremors and pain. I absorb each slash of skin as if it were my own.
Consumed by her agony, I fall to my hands, the pebbles in the floor digging into my palms, piercing my skin. The sound of rapid gunfire is heard a split second after the first bullet pierces my body. The stinging that radiates down my arm as I stare at my shoulder pushes me to my feet.
Spinning, I see Ares and Apollo fighting with guards as they try to kill the rest of the girls, my girls. My people. The men in the windows high above stare down with terror in their eyes, and the one they call Judas has already run.
Turning back to Ainsley, I grip the chains as blood sluggishly ripples down my arm and pools. The bricks from the walls and the weight of the iron fall over top of us as I shield her with my body. The beating of each rock, every pound of chain landing on my back, knocks us down to the dirty ground until we’re encased in a pile of rubble.
“Get up,” Callista whispers in my ear. “Call for them, and they will come.”
“I can’t. I don’t control my own body anymore,” I decry. The terrifying truth is, I have no idea how I’m still alive. I should be dead. The throbbing pain lacing through my flesh is more than any human should be able to bear, let alone continue to function.
“Draw your strength from her. She’s got you now, Arianna, use her.”
Inhaling a slow breath, I place my hands on the ground and hiss as I call on all my power to communicate with Ares and Apollo.
“Help me.” My desperation is evident, even to myself.
“Princess.” The young girl under my weight places her hands on my cheeks and stares at me, wonder and fear in her agonized gaze. “Princess, take from me what you need.”
Moments ago, I felt like the most powerful being in the universe; now, I feel like the weakest. As if my strength only lasted a brief moment, and now this brave girl who has lost everything, in her innocence, is offering me a gift.
Placing my forehead to hers, I whisper, “I would not be the woman I wish to become if I took from you more than what they have already stolen.”
“We’re coming, baby.” I hear Ares’ voice echo.
“Had to take it on yourself. Stubborn woman,” Apollo complains, but I recognize the admiration in his tone.
“Hurry.” Most men would be freaked out by the fact that we’re communicating telepathically, not mine. They’re taking it in stride, it seems.
Asher
Holy fuck.
I knew it was coming. From the minute we made love to her. Before that, even. I considered that whatever power she was harboring from her conception, it was going to be spectacular. But I had no damn idea how stunning she would become as she took on the men in the room.
I’m not even certain she realizes what she’s done. Ares and I backed away as the light began to illuminate her body and the sounds of breaking chains filled the air because getting knocked out during such a tense time isn’t an ideal way to win a battle.
Arianna moved fluidly after that. She was graceful as she flung the man whipping the young girl across the room. His body collapsed with the force of hitting the wall. When she had taken a knee in front of the girl, the first shot was fired, and I’d come unglued, attacking the ma
n and snapping his neck as Ares took on another guard.
The glass shattering above and the screams of the men in those rooms, watching the perversion below, brought music to my ears. I don’t know how, or why, but she’d burst the panes upwards, so the shards were lodged in their bodies instead of falling to the ground below.
Blood flows freely like a waterfall down the bricks as men hang over the edge, their swift end a fait accompli. The vibration of the roof crumbling down as Arianna pulls the chains free catches everyone’s attention as Ares’ guard friend returns to the room with weapons and keys.
We all freeze as Arianna and the girl are buried in the rubble. “Arianna!” Ares yells, rushing forward, reaching the brick and mortar seconds before I do.
We begin digging our way towards them when her voice ricochets in my mind, calling for help. I see Ares halt at the same moment and realize he’s heard it too. Relief swamps me as I send her a sarcastic retort.
I don’t know how this is happening, or rather why, but I can feel her life draining away. Her strength is zapped, and she’s struggling to keep the weight of the roof off the girl. “Hang on, Ari, just hang the fuck on.”
The digging continues as the other girls are set free, and I know without looking up that Judas has escaped. How we’ll find him again, I’m not sure, but we will, and he will pay dearly for what he’s done here.
More hands enter the fray, and soon, we uncover their bodies. Arianna’s back is barely rising with her breathing, and I know we need to act faster.
“Faster,” Ares grunts out as we push a large boulder off Ari’s leg together. “Callista,” he calls, surprising me. The woman is more powerful and knowing than she lets on, and I’m willing to bet she can see everything happening here.
Her soft voice sifts through our minds at once. “She’s fine. Preserving her strength. Go find the man. She won’t be well until he’s dealt with. Leave her, find him, bring him to her.”
“Not just fucking leaving her,” Ares bites out.
“You must. If you want her back, he needs to pay for his sins. After that, you’ll have your work cut out for you with her healing. The dark mage has a hold of her now, and she won’t let go without reason.”
Why does this mage have to be so fucking reasonable?
“Fine, but get this goddamned rubble off her. You can do that, right?”
Without a response, the area begins to glow like a flashlight is shining out from underneath, and within the next breath, it’s all falling away from their bodies.
“Princess?” the girl under her calls, as we slowly pull Arianna’s body off her. Checking for a pulse, it’s weak but steady as I lay her on the ground.
“Find him,” I hear Ari plead with us, even as she lays unconscious.
Gripping the girl’s shoulder as she leans over our princess, I say, “Ainsley?” She nods. “Take care of her,” I instruct, and she nods again.
Stepping back, I take a deep breath as I look to the man Ares appears to trust. “What’s your stake in this shit?” I ask him.
“Judas took my kid sister four years ago. I never saw her again.” The pain of the knowledge that he likely never will is in his eyes. There’s no hiding or faking that kind of truth.
“Guard these girls with your life. Or it will belong to me.” He signals agreeance, not at all phased by my threat.
“I know who you two are. From the minute Ares stepped foot in this place, I figured someone big had been taken and that Judas’ time on this earth was coming to an end. I only request a front row seat to the show because that son of a bitch deserves more than he’s going to get.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Ares
“You’re unnaturally quiet,” Apollo points out, and I shrug a shoulder.
It’s true, I am. I’m filled with rage and horror.
I never expected this magic shit to be real but watching Arianna transform before my eyes was both spellbinding and terrifying. Because if magic actually exists, if witches and spells and telepathy are possible, what else is?
Not much phases me in this life, but when it comes down to a woman I am vastly coming to care for and something is happening with her… Well, I don’t like the emotions it stirs up in me.
I didn’t like the fear I experienced when she didn’t respond to us.
I definitely didn’t fucking like the emptiness in her eyes as they clouded over with darkness when she threw that guard across the room.
And I don’t like the fucking feeling that she isn’t coming back from whatever just transpired. That the repercussions are permanent
I got the feeling when she said, I’m yours, that she wasn’t talking about being ours.
“She’s not coming back from this, is she?” I say as we nonchalantly walk up the stairs to Judas’ office to try and find out where he would go from here. I know he has safe houses all across Europe, and I’m privy to the locations of each one, but he’d be stupid to go to any one of them.
If I were him, I would have a backup plan to every backup plan he has in place if a raid were ever to go down. And go down did it fucking ever.
“She will,” Apollo says, raising his gun as we reach the top of the stairs. “We’ll get her back.” If not for the doubt in his tone, I’d believe the man.
Finding the hallway empty and doors to the viewing rooms wide open, some even knocked off their hinges, I can only shake my head. I can’t fucking believe how screwed up this situation has become.
We thought we were dealing with human trafficking, and to be faced with the evidence of how wrong we were, invokes a visceral response.
“His office is on the left,” I murmur when hushed voices can be heard from behind the closed door.
Weapons raised, body tensed, mind sharp, I stand to the side of the door prepared to open it as Apollo readies himself for impact. The man is on a mission, and I don’t think a measly bullet is about to stop him from completing it.
Raising a hand, he counts on his fingers, three, two, one, and I turn the handle, pushing the heavy wood open all the way. A second later, Apollo fires two shots, and I hear two loud thuds as bodies hit the floor.
Lifting a brow at his quickness, he shrugs with a smirk on his face as I look around the corner to see two armed guards on the ground.
“We could have questioned them,” I comment. Usually, it’s me being scolded by him.
“They were ready to shoot first. I solved the problem.”
Entering the room, I can see they were shredding papers. Luckily, they hadn’t destroyed the computer yet. “Think your computer savvy friend can help out with this?”
“Yeah, I’ll give Tac a call. Maybe he can get satellite up for us too. See where this asshole fled to.” As Apollo leaves the room, I rummage through the desk and journals for clues about his possible whereabouts and who his clients are.
Judas may be the bad apple, but he’s got snakes in the garden that need to be rounded up. Because if life has taught me anything, it’s that as soon as you cut one snake’s head off, five more pop up to take over.
I want to send a message to the criminal world that this, torturing women and children, won’t be tolerated while Apollo and Ares have breath left in our bodies.
Apollo
“Come on, Tac, pick up the damn phone,” I hiss as I lean up against the wall outside the office. Rage continues to pulsate through me as I think of this bastard getting away. He deserves nothing short of an excruciating death, and come hell or high water, it’s precisely what I’m going to give him.
“Speak.” Tac’s unruffled voice echoes across the line.
“You busy?”
“In Brazil at the moment. Depends on what you need?” Before coming here, I’d handed Task Force 779 an assignment in the jungle. Even though I’m not point on this mission, I’ve got their back no matter what.
“Need anything from me?”
“Nah, man, we’re good. I can feel you practically vibrating through the line. What’
s going on?” Ryder Morrison has always been an observant man; it’s why he’s so good at his job.
“Pin my location and hack into the satellites, see if you can find anyone leaving within the past hour. Like their ass is on fire.”
“What are you up to, Asher?” I can already hear him typing on his computer.
“Saving a princess. Stopping a human sadist. You know, everyday stuff.” I need to joke because, otherwise, it will consume me.
“A princess, huh? Need backup?”
“You bored in the jungle, Tac?”
He laughs. “Nope, but Codie wants to see Ireland one day.”
“Take her. First fucking chance you get, travel the globe with that girl,” I tell him. I know all about regret now and letting Arianna out of our sight that first night is my biggest.
“Plan to,” he murmurs as I hear gunfire in the background.
“Got something you need to deal with?”
“Nope. Phantom’s got it handled. Knot might shit his pants, though. Girl’s got him in knots. Pun intended.” More than his laughter can be heard through the line.
“Go figure.” Never thought I’d see the big man fall.
“Alright, I’ve got what you need. White SUV fleeing the castle and heading towards a private airstrip. You should have coordinates now.” My phone dings as he says it. “Looks like three big guys with him, minimal weapons. I’m shutting the airport and any others near there down now. Airplane is hacked and offline too.”
“You’re the man, Tac.”
“You know it. Hit me up if you need more help.”
After hanging up, I walk back into the office to find Ares sitting behind the desk sifting through pictures. “There are hundreds of girls here. Babies.”
“I’ve got him.” Taking the remote drive from my pocket, I slip it into the computer and send a text to Tac asking him to retrieve everything. I want arrests before the night is over.
Tossing the images on the desk, one in particular stands out to me. Not because of how bloody or torn up she is, but because she seems familiar.
